Harry's Primary School Experience
by Healer Pomfrey
Summary: Harry has fallen ill at the primary school and is waiting for someone to take him home. Who cares enough to save him? Completely AU, partly OOC, Neglect!Dursleys, Sick!Harry, childfic.
1. Muggle Primary School

**Harry's Primary School Experience**

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_This story consists of several chapters that were originally written as one-shots within the Primary School Series!_

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Harry was sitting in his primary school class on a rainy Friday morning, listening to the teacher's explanations that didn't make much sense, at least not to him. '_The teacher seems a bit strange today_,' Harry mused, trying to follow the teacher's conversation with his classmates. '_I don't know but something is just strange today. If just my head and my throat wouldn't hurt so much_,' he thought, while a shiver ran down his back. He glanced at the teacher, who was just scolding Dudley, and Harry noticed wearily that her face turned into that of a fire breathing lion. Suddenly, he felt very hot. He took his glasses off, rubbing his aching eyes. '_Since when is the teacher breathing fire?_' he wondered but relaxed when he heard the siren of a police car. '_Ah, they have probably noticed that there is a lion at the school and come to take it away_,' he thought and concentrated on keeping his eyes open.

"Harry, the bell for the break already rang a few minutes ago; go out and play," a soft voice suddenly spoke to him.

Harry quickly opened his eyes and replied, "I'm sorry," his voice sounding hoarse and sore.

"Are you feeling all right?" the teacher asked, knelt in front of him, and took one of his hands into her own, cool hand before a slim, icy hand found its way up to Harry's forehead. "Oh my, you're burning up, Harry!" the teacher exclaimed, looking at the child with wide eyes. "Let me take you to the nurse, Harry. She will phone your relatives, so that they come and pick you up. Why didn't you tell me that you're ill?"

"I didn't know," Harry whispered back.

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"Hello, Mrs. Dursley? This is the nurse of Little Whinging Primary School."

"Oh, did something happen to my Dudley?" Petunia enquired, sounding horrified at the thought that the school nurse would phone her to report that Dudley was sick or injured.

"It's not Dudley, but your nephew Harry," the nurse answered, causing Petunia to let out a relieved sigh.

"Ah, that's all right then. Please tell him to come home to the usual time."

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Dursley, but your nephew seems to have a very high fever, and you have to pick him up immediately," the school nurse replied sternly, a hint of anger in her voice.

"Unfortunately, that's not possible since I have to leave now to meet with my husband, and we won't be back until late in the evening. Dudley will go home with his friend, and Harry has to come home by himself," Petunia quickly replied, cutting the conversation with the angry nurse.

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'_Oh, Aunt Petunia will be so angry that the nurse phoned her,_' Harry thought, while he sat on a chair, patiently waiting while Ms. Hara, the nurse, talked to his aunt.

Suddenly, the nurse knelt in front of him. Harry gave her a shocked glance. He hadn't even noticed that she had finished the phone call. "Harry," Ms. Hara told him kindly, "You have to lie down in one of the beds. Your aunt is too busy and cannot pick you up, and I cannot let you go home because I cannot leave you alone at home when you're so ill." She helped Harry into one of the beds and handed him pyjamas. "Here Harry, please quickly change, so that you will have it comfortable in bed for a few hours. Can you change on your own?"

Harry gave the kind woman a weary glance and replied, "Yes Madam." However, he was glad when the friendly nurse stayed and helped him since he was shivering so much that he really struggled with the pyjamas' bottom. He gratefully lay down in the bed. '_Oh, this feels so nice. It's much softer than my own bed in my cupboard_,' Harry thought, mumbling a hoarse "Thank you" to the nurse before he closed his eyes.

"No Harry, you must not sleep yet," Ms. Hara told him in her soft voice. "Open your mouth please," she instructed him and stuck a thermometer into his mouth. '_Oh, this feels yucky and icy_,' he thought, feeling very uncomfortable. While they were waiting, the nurse told him, "Harry, please think if there is anyone in your neighbourhood to whom I could take you until your relatives come back."

Harry already wanted to reply that he didn't know anyone, when he thought of Mrs. Figg, the strange woman with the cats, who sometimes babysat him. "dere id Di…" he tried to speak around the thermometer, but the nurse stopped him immediately.

"It's all right, sweetie; you can tell me when the reading is finished," she told him kindly and took a wet cloth to wipe the sweat off his hot forehead and cheeks.

Harry gave her a grateful nod, when she finally took back the thermometer. "39.8," she told him, frowning, and began to examine him. Harry gave her a frightened look when she placed a stethoscope on his chest to auscultate his lungs. "You don't have to be afraid, Harry," she told him softly. "Have you never been examined by a doctor?"

"No," Harry croaked, watching uncomfortably when she looked into his mouth and his ears.

Ms. Hara sighed. "You have a bad case of bronchitis, and you need proper care; otherwise you'll wind up in the hospital with a lung infection very shortly. Did you know anyone, who would be able and willing to look after you?"

"Perhaps Mrs. Figg; she's a neighbour and she sometimes babysits me when the Dursleys take Dudley somewhere," Harry croaked. "But please don't contact her; I'll be fine at home. I'm sorry for being such a burden."

The nurse gave him a horrified look. "No, Harry, you .. And you're very ill and need to be looked after. Let's wait until your teacher comes in at the end of the last lesson, which will be in two hours' time, and then one of us will go and ask her before we take you anywhere." She handed him two pills and a glass of water. "This one is against the infection, and the other is for the fever, Harry. Please make sure to drink all the water together with the pills."

Harry obeyed, and Ms. Hara took the glass back commending him in her soft voice, "Well done, Harry. Now lie down and try to sleep for a while please."

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Harry woke up to his teacher's upset voice. "How can that woman say such a thing? I can tell you he's absolutely neglected at home, the poor child. Look at how skinny he is; probably they don't even feed him properly."

The nurse followed her colleague's finger, taking in the child's white face. His hair was sweaty and plastered to his hot forehead while his cheeks looked feverishly red. "All right; I agree that we should look a bit into this, but for now we have to find someone to take the child in; otherwise I'll stay here with him overnight. I can and I will not let him go back to an empty home."

"All right, I will go and speak to this Mrs. Figg. Do you know exactly where she lives?"

"No, you have to ask Harry. I have to wake him up anyway in order to take his temperature again and give him his medication," Harry could hear Ms. Hara reply. An instant later, he felt that someone sat down on the edge of his bed. "Harry?" Ms. Hara called him softly.

Harry felt too bad to open his eyes but whispered, "She lives at No. 9 Privet Drive."

"Very well, Harry; thanks for the information. I will go and talk to her," the teacher promised and quickly left the room.

"Harry, can you please open your eyes for an instant?" Ms. Hara asked, and Harry hesitantly complied, mumbling, "hurts."

"You're obviously worse than before," the nurse stated worriedly, peering into the child's glassy eyes before she placed the thermometer into his mouth again. While they were waiting, she put a cold compress around Harry's legs in order to lower his temperature, glancing concerned at her wristwatch. "40.6," she sighed, watching the flushed spots on his cheeks and the sweat dribbling down from his forehead. "I have to consider taking you to the doctor," she told Harry, bathing his hot face in concern.

'_I hope she can make me better; I feel so bad_,' Harry thought, feeling absolutely awful. Suddenly, he felt something cold pressed against his lips, and greedily drank the cold water the nurse let him drink much too slowly for his liking.

Finally, Harry's teacher returned, and the nurse gave her an expectant look. "I spoke to Mrs. Figg, and she told me she would send someone to pick up Harry as soon as possible," the teacher told her colleague.

"That's good because he has a fever of more than 40 degrees," the nurse replied.

Harry drifted in and out of consciousness, captured in fever induced nightmares. '_There are two lions talking to each other, but I can't understand what they say. Do lions talk a different language?_' he mused. However, suddenly, one of the lions started to breathe fire at him. '_Oh, not again,_' he thought annoyed. '_I'm already so hot. Can't you breathe ice for once?_' he asked the lions and suddenly felt a chill creep over his body, causing him to shake vehemently.

Harry's feverish mind didn't notice the doors to the infirmary being flung open, nor did he see the tall man in black clothes approach the teacher and the nurse. "I have come for one Harry Potter," a silky voice suddenly penetrated his foggy mind.

Harry lazily opened his eyes that wouldn't open very wide due to his high fever and gave the unknown man a weary glance.

"Excuse me, but who are you?" Ms. Hara asked sternly, taking in Harry's expression.

"I'm his real father," the silky voice replied softly, approaching Harry's bedside at the same time. The man quickly touched Harry's hand with the ring he wore on his right hand and mumbled something.

Harry felt a slight pull behind his navel, and had he felt bad before, he felt absolutely horrible now. The whole world seemed to be turning around, and he started to whimper silently and put a small thumb into his mouth to calm himself and to prevent his teeth from chattering.

Finally, the travel came to an end, and Harry felt himself being put down on the softest bed he had ever lain on. Suddenly, he felt a strange, tingly sensation gliding his body up and down and curiously opened his eyes. '_This feels funny, but it also feels very normal_,' he thought, looking around for the lions. He could only see one lion, the one that was just going to sit down on the edge of his bed. "My poor child; how did you get so sick?" the soft, silky voice from before spoke to him but Harry felt too bad to even think of an adequate answer.

He suddenly felt something cold pressed against his mouth and quickly opened his mouth and swallowed, nearly jumping in fright when he realized that it was not water but a very strange liquid he was gulping down. However, before he could complain, he noticed that he suddenly felt much better. He felt how the pain slowly receded and how his burning skin cooled down comfortably. Harry lazily opened his eyes that were back to their usual brilliant green and gave his saviour an exhausted smile before he closed his eyes again and drifted off to a much needed sleep.

The man however stayed at his side and kept talking to him. "The headmaster wanted to keep it a secret. But after all that your school teachers told me, I'm not going to leave you with your relatives. You are my son, and I can prove it with the memory Lily put into the Pensieve and with the blood potion that will make you look like you are supposed to look – like a miniature version of me combined with Lily's green eyes. Yes, you're my son, and I will claim you as such, Harold Severus Snape."

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_I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse my mistakes! _

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K__. Rowling__, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	2. New Friends

**New Friends  
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Severus threw a look at his wrist watch. Dinner was already over, and the headmaster would probably be in his office. Hopefully, he wouldn't put up a huge fight about the matter they had to discuss. He quickly waved his wand around his son's bed that would alert him if Harry woke up. Then he walked to the fireplace and called the headmaster. "Albus, I have something important to talk about with you. Could you come over for a moment, please?"

"I am just having a conversation with Minerva, my boy. Why is it so urgent?" the headmaster questioned.

"Then Minerva is very welcome to join us. It is about Harry," Severus replied impatiently and cut off the Floo connection.

A minute later, Albus stepped out of the fireplace, closely followed by Minerva. Severus motioned for them to sit down and said, "I'm sorry, Albus, I brought Harry here." Ignoring Minerva's and Albus' gasps, Severus explained what Harry's school teacher had told Mrs. Figg and that he went to see him and decided to take him to Hogwarts immediately.

"Arabella contacted you straight away?" Albus asked astonished.

"Yes, Albus, she knew Lily very well and therefore knew that I am Harry's father, just like Minerva and you knew, Albus. I will claim him as my son. I will not let him return to that sad excuse of a family," Severus replied in determination.

"But the blood wards…" Albus began, but was soon interrupted.

Minerva let out a snort, and Severus talked back harshly, "I don't care about the blood wards, Albus. He is my son, and he's going to stay with me. There are enough ancient wards around Hogwarts to keep my son safe here."

"I agree completely," Minerva spoke up. "We will all work together to keep Harry safe. How is he, by the way? May I see him? You know, I knew him so well when he was small, and he was always like a grandson to me."

"He's asleep at the moment. I gave him a potion against his bronchitis, and it seemed to work at first, but his condition was so bad that I'm afraid it will take him a few days to get over this. There is still a possibility that it'll turn into a lung infection before it starts to get better. I'm going to stay with him during the night."

"Thank God it's the weekend. I will take turns with you, Severus, and I'm sure Poppy will help as well," Minerva said softly, glancing at her wrist watch.

"Severus, what are you going to do with him while you are teaching?" Albus enquired, obviously not too contented with the decision that had been made without consulting him beforehand.

"As he is already six, he can attend the primary school in Hogsmeade," Minerva said eagerly. I know the headmistress quite well and will talk to her as soon as Harry is recovered. Until he is well enough he will have to stay in with Poppy during the day. I'm sure she won't mind at all."

"All right, Severus, Minerva. If you need my help concerning the guardianship or anything else, let me know."

"Thank you, Albus," Severus said gratefully and slightly bowed his head towards the headmaster.

While Albus stepped back through the Floo to his office, Minerva followed Severus into his guest room, where Harry was still asleep. "Oh my, the poor child," Minerva uttered, taking in his sickly appearance. His cheeks were flushed, and pearls of sweat were dribbling from his temples, while his hair was sweaty and plastered to his forehead. She quickly conjured a cold cloth and settled down on the edge of Harry's bed to wipe the sweat from his burning face. "Severus, don't you think it would be better to call Poppy?" she asked in concern. "He's burning up."

Severus, who had been watching his son in awe, stepped over to the bed and waved his wand over his son again. "He's still getting worse," he then said. "I'm afraid that it's going to turn into a lung infection. I'd like to know what happened that he could get so ill. But you're right; I'm going to call Poppy."

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Minutes later, Poppy bustled into the room, and after quickly greeting Minerva, she waved her wand over Harry several times. "He's not in a good shape. He has bronchitis that is on the verge of turning into a lung infection, and he has a fever of 41 degrees." She cleared her throat and remained pensive for a moment, before she continued, "I'm not sure if our potion against lung infection is suitable for such a small child. I have to return to the hospital wing and check my books. How old is he, four? Five?" She gave Severus a questioning glance.

"He's six years and three months, Poppy."

Poppy frowned. "Are you sure, Severus?"

Severus sighed. "Poppy, this boy is currently registered under the name Harry Potter. However, as Minerva can assure you, in fact he is Harold Severus Snape. Therefore, I know that he is definitely born on July 31st, 1980. He is six." Seeing her surprised face, he added, "Don't you remember Poppy, that I was married to Lily before she got together with Potter? We had to separate because of the Dark Lord's threatening."

"Oh, yes, my dear, I remember that. These were horrible times," Poppy confirmed. She glanced at Minerva, receiving a confirming nod, and replied, "That's indeed a surprise, Severus. Congratulations! Is he going to stay with you from now on?" She once more waved her wand at the child before she pointed it at a parchment on his pillow that filled with several data. "Try to keep him cool; I'll be back as soon as possible. I might have to retrieve the necessary information from St. Mungo's, if I don't find it in my books."

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During the night, Harry drifted in and out of consciousness. Severus spent the whole time sitting on the edge of his bed, wiping the child's sweaty face and body with the cool cloth, which Minerva had charmed to stay cold. Each time Harry woke up, Severus stuck a magical thermometer under his tongue and used the time they were waiting for the reading to speak to the child in a soft, soothing voice. Early in the morning, Harry's fever came down a bit, and Severus noticed thankfully that the potion, which Poppy had brought back from St. Mungo's together with the recipe, so that he would be able to brew more of it, seemed to help.

"Hello Harry, how are you feeling?" Severus enquired softly.

"Hello," Harry mumbled shyly. '_Who is that man? I know that he took me away from school, but I can't remember having seen him before_,' he thought. "I'm feeling a bit better," he said hoarsely. "But excuse me, sir, who are you? Are you a friend of Mrs. Figg?"

"Harry, I don't know what your relatives have told you about your parents, but I am your real father."

Dull green eyes looked astonished up to the onyx eyes just in front of them. "You… you are my Daddy?" Harry finally asked incredulously. "But the Dursleys told me that my parents died in a car accident," he whispered, still looking straight at Severus.

Severus sighed. "No, Harry; your Mummy and your adoptive father died protecting you, when a very bad man attacked them. However, I am your real father, Harry, and if you want you may stay with me from now on."

Harry's expression changed to one of absolute delight. '_I'm in such a nice, soft bed, and he has been caring for me all the time; this is so much better than being alone in my cupboard_,' he mused. "Thank you, I'd love to stay with you," he croaked happily, ending up in a coughing fit.

"Be careful son, don't talk too much. Try to sleep for a little while, and we'll talk more later on."

Harry had just fallen asleep, when Poppy arrived to check on the child, and Severus was glad that he didn't have to introduce the Healer right now since he still had to tell Harry about magic. Later in the morning, Severus introduced Harry to Minerva, who had come to watch the child for a few hours, so that Severus could brew Harry's potion and get some sleep as well. Harry liked Minerva immediately. '_Something about the lady feels so familiar, but I don't know why_,' the thought, giving the kind woman a huge smile.

Later in the afternoon, when Severus was alone with Harry, he decided to tell his son about magic. "Harry, did your relatives tell you about magic?"

Harry flinched back badly and gave his father a terrified look. Severus watched his son, astonished, and asked, "Do you know that we are wizards?"

Harry nearly chocked and instead ended up in a coughing fit. "Wizards?" he asked. "But my relatives taught me that there is no such thing like magic," he whispered hesitantly. '_Oh no; has he already found out that I am a freak?_' he thought horrified.

"Harry," Severus sighed, "Do you remember that they lied to you when they told you how your mother died?" On Harry's nod, he continued, "Your relatives obviously hate the magical world, and I assume that's the reason why they didn't tell you about it. We are wizards, and your Mummy was a witch, a very powerful, brilliant one."

"But…"

"Harry, have you never done anything strange?" Severus enquired gently, raising an eyebrow at the child.

"Um…" Harry thought about making his teacher's hair purple. "Maybe," he whispered softly.

"You see," Severus said kindly. "Now, you have met Aunt Minerva and Aunt Poppy today, didn't you? Both of them are witches, and we all live here at Hogwarts. It's a huge school for witches and wizards, and I am a teacher here."

Harry sat up excitedly, but Severus pushed him down again immediately, shaking his head. "Daddy, can you show me something, I mean, can you do magic for me?"

The edges of Severus' mouth pulled slightly up. He pulled his wand out of his robe pocket and quickly conjured a stuffed, green teddy bear for Harry, handing it to the child. Harry watched the teddy in awe. "Is that for me?" he asked excitedly.

"Yes, my son, that's your teddy," Severus replied, a small smile on his lips, and watched in awe as Harry cuddled the teddy close. He pointed his wand at the teddy bear, and on the teddy's stomach, silvery letters appeared: '_I'm Harry's teddy_.' "All right, I believe it's time for you to sleep. Let me check your temperature, and then you can drink your potion and sleep."

"Daddy, I'm already fine. Please tell me, how can I go to school from here? Where are we here?" Harry asked, ignoring Severus' request.

"We are in Scotland, very far from your former home and school, Harry. However, you will probably be able to attend the primary school here in the near-by town. Aunt Minerva promised to speak to the headmistress of the school as soon as you're back to full health."

'_I can go to school without Dudley. Then I don't have to pretend I'm bad and can write good tests, and maybe I can even find a friend_,' Harry thought delighted. He just opened his mouth to announce how much he was looking forward to attending primary school, when Severus stuck the thermometer into his mouth and shut him up.

"39.8, Harry, you're far from being fine," Severus said sternly and held a phial to the child's lips.

Harry obediently swallowed the liquid and lay back, noticing that he was very tired.

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On Monday morning, Harry's condition wasn't much better, and like Severus had already told Harry on Sunday evening, he brought Harry to the hospital wing, so that Poppy could watch over him, while Severus had to teach. Poppy put him into the bed that was the closest to her office and sat on the edge of Harry's bed to keep the child company whenever she had time. After the last lesson, Severus came to take him home immediately. Harry had to stay with Poppy during the whole week but he didn't mind. He liked Poppy a lot, and many students, who visited the hospital wing or even had to stay there, came over to him and curiously talked with him. After a week in the hospital wing, Harry had the impression that he had already gained many friends. Moreover, as soon as Harry's fever came down and Poppy allowed him to read, Severus gave him several children's books he had bought for him during a free period.

Harry enjoyed reading very much, especially as he had never possessed a book of his own except for his school books. When Severus came to collect Harry on Friday afternoon, he was fast asleep, a book under his left arm, his stuffed teddy under his right arm, and a thumb in his mouth. Severus couldn't help chuckling, and Poppy came over, saying, "He is such a cute boy, Severus, I'm glad we have him here. By the way, his condition has improved a lot and if you let him rest as much as possible in your chambers during the weekend, he might be able to start attending school next week. However, he still has to rest a lot. He was very ill, and I'm afraid that he will be susceptible to colds and infections for a while. We have to keep an eye on him."

"All right, Poppy, thanks," Severus said gratefully. "By the way, Poppy, before he starts primary school, I'd like to give him the potion to counteract the effects of the blood potion that Lily gave him to make him look like Potter. I already have received the documents from the Ministry, and he is officially my son now. Is he already well enough for that potion?"

Poppy sighed. "I will come to your quarters on Sunday morning. That's still two days ahead, and his condition will still improve. I want you to give him the potion in my presence anyway. In case I'm busy here, I will Floo-call you, and you have to bring him here.

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On Sunday morning, Severus gave Harry the potion. He had already explained about it in advance and had even warned the child that it could be very uncomfortable and might hurt because his whole body was going to change. "It's all right, Daddy, I want to look like you," Harry said, giving Severus a huge smile, and downed the potion.

"Lie down, sweetie," Poppy advised him gently, and Harry obeyed.

'_It can't be so bad_,' he thought. However, a few minutes later, his body started to change, and all his joints ached. Harry felt absolutely horrible and couldn't help crying. He wearily noticed that his Daddy and Poppy were sitting on both sides of him and were taking turns waving their wands at him and cooling his sweaty face with a cool cloth. Two hours later, everything was over, but Harry still felt terrible. "He is feverish and sore, Severus. Let's give him a pain relieving potion laced with just a bit of a sleeping draught. I'll come to check on him after lunch. If he wakes up before that, call me," he heard Poppy's voice and gratefully closed his eyes.

When Harry woke up again, he felt much better, just a bit strange though. His Daddy was sitting next to him, giving him a proud look. "Come on; let's have a look into the mirror. You look completely different now, but I have to say, you look much better than before. You look like me, but you still have your Mummy's beautiful, green eyes," Severus told him and led him into the bathroom, where Harry anxiously stepped in front of the mirror.

"Oh my, aren't you handsome, child?" the mirror commented, and Harry nearly jumped in fright. '_I didn't know that mirrors could talk_,' he thought, amused, after the first anxiousness had passed.

"All right, Mr. Handsome, are you feeling well enough to go to the Great Hall for dinner?" Severus enquired. "Aunt Poppy has allowed you to get up, so if you want…"

"Yes, Daddy, I want," Harry replied excitedly. "Um… can teddy come too, Daddy?" he then asked in a small voice.

"Yes, of course you may take teddy with you," Severus replied gently and scooped the child up into his arms to carry him at least halfway to the Great Hall.

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Harry sat between Severus and Minerva at the head table, and when the headmaster introduced him to the whole school as Harry Snape, Harry stood up and gave the students a shy wave with his hand, noticing that everyone was smiling at him. As soon as everyone started to eat, Harry turned to Minerva. "Aunt Minerva, Daddy told me that you would arrange for me to attend primary school. Can I go to school tomorrow? Please!" he begged the kind woman.

Minerva sighed. "I cannot promise anything right now, but I will try to phone-call my friend, who is the headmistress, right after dinner and ask her." She turned to Poppy, who was sitting at her other side. "Is Harry already well enough to go to school?"

Poppy let out a small sigh. "I don't like it, Minerva, but he can't wait to go to school, so…" She shrugged helplessly.

"Now, Harry, I believe I haven't been properly introduced to your teddy," Harry suddenly heard a voice from behind. He shyly held out the teddy to the old wizard with the fascinating old man, who had visited him a few times during the week and was very friendly. "Hello Teddy, I am Albus Dumbledore," he talked to the teddy before he gave it back to Harry with a twinkle in his eyes.

Harry noticed astonished that his teddy now had a different colour. It wasn't green anymore but light blue. He gave Minerva an astonished look, showing her the teddy. "Ah, Albus, he is a big child," she muttered and enquired, "Do you want him back green, or would you like him in a different colour? Maybe orange?"

Harry let out a small laugh. "Thank you, Aunt Minerva, I'll be fine." He gave the teddy a piercing glance, and it slowly changed back its colour to the green that exactly matched his green eyes. He stared at the teddy once more, and its black eyes started to twinkle like the headmaster's.

"Very well done, sweetie," Minerva commended the child and made a mental note to speak to Severus about Harry's abilities later on.

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On Monday morning, Severus accompanied Harry to the primary school in Hogsmeade. "Harry, you have to remember the way to the school, because normally, you'll have to walk on your own. I can only accompany you today because Aunt Poppy was so kind to take over my first lesson, but I cannot do that every morning."

"That's all right, Daddy. I only have to walk straight on, don't I?" Harry replied, his eyes shining with excitement.

In Harry's class were six children; all of them were magical, and they were six years old, just like Harry. He soon learned to know the other children, and within three days he had already gained five friends. "That's very good," his Daddy told him, "because when you are eleven and attend Hogwarts, they will all be here at Hogwarts together with you."

"Is there someone you like best?" Minerva asked at dinner, smiling down at the child.

Harry grinned back and replied, "Yes, I like Neville; he's my best friend."

On Friday morning, Harry had just walked halfway to Hogsmeade, when it started to rain. Within minutes, Harry was soaked, and by the time he arrived at the school, his teeth were chattering from the cold. His teacher immediately cast a drying charm at him, but Harry just couldn't get warm. During the first afternoon lesson, he noticed that he had obviously caught a cold again. His throat was sore, and he felt all over achy and hot and cold at the same time. Noticing that he couldn't concentrate on the teacher's words anyway, he quietly told the teacher that he didn't feel well and would like to go home. The teacher gave him a piercing look and saw that the child seemed to be shivering in spite of the fact that his cheeks were flushed. She quickly felt his forehead and sighed. "Yes, Harry, you're obviously sick. Please wait a moment, I'm going to call your father, so that he'll come and pick you up."

"No, please don't," Harry croaked appalled. "He cannot come now, because he has to teach the students, but I can walk home and go to Aunt Poppy." '_If she calls Daddy out of his lessons, he will be so angry_,' he thought horrified, remembering his Aunt Petunia's reactions when a teacher called her because of him.

"Don't worry, Harry, I can call Poppy and ask her to take you home through the Floo," the teacher said calmingly and asked Neville, who was sitting next to Harry, to keep an eye on him, before she hurried to the fireplace in the hall.

Five minutes later, Severus strode into the room, thanked the teacher, and led Harry over to the fireplace to Floo home. "But Daddy, you habe to teach, habeb't you?" Harry asked worried, sounding very congested.

"Yes, but the headmaster took over for me. Don't worry about that now, let's get you into bed and see what's wrong." He helped his son to change into pyjamas and made him sit in bed, before he put the thermometer into the child's mouth. While they were waiting for the reading, he waved his wand over the child and said relieved, "This time we probably got it in time; it's only a bad cold so far. Nevertheless, you have a fever of 39 degrees," he added, sighing, and summoned a Pepper-up potion for the child.

"Daddy, I'll be bibe. Go back to class," Harry said concerned, busily cuddling his teddy. "I'll just tay here ad seep. I'b aweady buch better. Atchoo, atchoo, heesshoo."

"I know Harry, you already sound much better," Severus replied, smirking, and placed a kiss on his son's forehead. "No Harry, nothing is more important than you, my child," he told the child gently, carefully tucking him in.

* * *

HP

_I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse my mistakes - or tell me, so that I can correct them! _

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	3. Caring for Daddy

**Caring for Daddy**

One morning, Harry woke up to his father's vehement sneezing. "Atchoo, atchoo, heesshoo, heesshoo, xsshoo, atchoo."

In a blink, the child jumped out of his bed and made his way over to his father's bedroom, where Severus was sitting on the edge of his bed having a coughing fit. His skin looked even paler than normal, his cheeks were unnaturally red, and he looked at his son with dull, glassy eyes. "Daddy, are you ill?" Harry asked, horrified.

"Doe, sod, I'b all right. I'be already takeb a Pepper-up Potiod, add it should becobe better ady bidute dow," Severus croaked hoarsely.

Harry hesitantly extended a small hand to his father's forehead and pulled it back quickly. "Daddy, you're burning up. Lie down, and I will take care of you."

Severus groaned. "Harry, I dob't habe de tibe to play gabes. I habe to teach."

"You're in no condition to teach, Daddy," Harry insisted and hurried to the bathroom, where he knew Severus kept the magical thermometer he always used to take his temperature. "Lie down and let me take your temperature, Daddy," he ordered his father, giving him a menacing glare.

Normally, Severus would have laughed at the child's glare, but he felt too miserable to fight and obediently lay down and took in the thermometer. While they were waiting for the reading, Harry busied himself scribbling a short note on a piece of parchment.

_Dear Profesor Dumbeldor  
My Daddy is sik and cannot tiech today.  
Yours truly  
Harry Snape_

He took the thermometer back and looked at the figures. "38.5," he read. "I don't know, is that bad?" he asked unsurely.

"Doe, it's dot bad, but it should habe cobe dowd after I took de potiod," Severus croaked, ending up in a coughing fit. "Adyway, you habe to go to school, Harry, I'll be fide. Atchoo, atchoo, atchoo."

"No Daddy," Harry replied, determined, and scribbled another note for his school teacher.

_Dear Mrs. Baker  
I cannot come to school today becaus my Daddy is sik and I must look after him.  
Yours sinserly  
Harry Snape_

He called a house elf as he had seen his father do before. When the elf arrived and bowed deeply in front of him, "What can Tipsy do for little Master Harry?" he frowned.

"Don't bow for me, I'm not a master, I'm only six. Can you take this letter to Professor Dumbledore and this to my school teacher at Hogsmeade Primary school, please?" He handed Tipsy the two letters, adding, "And please bring some chicken broth for my Daddy and toast for me."

"Yes, of course, little Master Harry," Tipsy replied and popped away.

Harry helped his father to sit up as well as he could, ignoring his croaked protests stating that he only wanted to sleep, and fed him with the chicken broth. When Severus lay down again, Harry quickly went to the bathroom to fetch a cool cloth and gently wiped his father's sweaty, hot face, before he tucked him in carefully. The edges of Severus' mouth pulled slightly up. "Dagk you, sod," he croaked miserably.

"You're welcome, Daddy. Now try to sleep for a while. I'm going to stay with you," Harry promised, taking his father's hot hand in his own cool one.

"Harry, cad you fetch be a feber reducigg potiod, please?" Severus asked suddenly, and Harry gave him an unsure look.

"That's the light blue potion on the right side of the second shelf, isn't it?" he enquired, glad when his father mumbled a short, "Ye." Hurrying over to the potions lab, he fetched the potion and was back in a blink, pressing the phial against Severus' lips.

Severus visibly relaxed and closed his eyes, slowly drifting off to sleep. Harry listened to his father's breathing that gradually evened out, before he went to get a book from his room and started to read, looking up every now and then to watch his father in concern. Severus woke up frequently, coughing and sneezing. Harry did his best to hand him tissues or a glass of water whenever his father needed it. He frequently refreshed the cool cloth, carefully putting it back on Severus' forehead.

When Severus woke up again around lunchtime, Harry once more pried the thermometer into his mouth, noticing worriedly that his fever had gone up a few points. In spite of feeling absolutely awful, Severus saw how worried his son was and explained hoarsely, "It's dorbal, Harry, dat a persod's feber goes up a bit durigg de day, but I'b dot feeligg worse dad before."

Harry gave him a worried look. "Daddy, you sound very congested, and I think your fever is a bit high. Wouldn't it be better if I called Aunt Poppy?"

"Doe, just let be sleep, Harry, I'll be fibe."

"No Daddy, you must eat something first," Harry disagreed vehemently. "What do you want? Chicken broth again?"

"Doe, I dob't wadt abydigg," Severus groaned hoarsely, ending up in a coughing fit.

"You will eat, or I'm going to call Aunt Poppy," Harry threatened, starting to spoon the soup into his father's mouth.

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Harry spent the whole day at Severus' side, only leaving him shortly when he had to use the bathroom or to refresh the cloth to bathe his father's hot face. He had just taken the thermometer back from Severus around dinnertime and given it a terrified look, when the fireplace in the living room flared and Poppy stepped out.

"Hello Harry, how are you faring?" Poppy asked gently, waving her wand around Severus. "He has a bad cold," she finally said, putting away her wand. "You are taking very good care of your father, sweetie."

"Thank you," Harry beamed, feeling very grown up.

"Before you go to bed, I want you to take his temperature once more, and if the thermometer shows the numbers in red or pink, I need you to call me. Afterwards, he needs to take this potion..." She pointed to a phial on the night table, "... and he'll be fine." She gave Harry a piercing look. "When do you normally go to bed?"

"At seven o'clock, but then we always read together for a while, and Daddy spells the lights out at eight," Harry replied honestly.

"All right, then please go to bed not later than eight o'clock, sweetie. We don't want you to become sick as well," Poppy instructed the child and promised to come and look after Severus later in the evening.

Seeing that Severus' fever was exceeding 39 degrees, Harry was too worried to retire to his own room and decided to lie down next to his father. Taking care of his father during the whole day had exhausted him, and he slept sound and safe until the morning, not noticing that Poppy spent several hours at Severus' side trying to get his fever down that spiked during the night.

In the morning, Severus' condition was much worse than on the day before, and Poppy instructed Harry to take his temperature every few hours and give him a fever reducing potion afterwards. She also taught him how to make tea in their small kitchen, so that he didn't have to call the house elves every time Severus wanted tea, since Harry preferred to do things on his own than to bother the elves, who bowed to him and called him Master, actions that Harry didn't appreciate at all. Severus refused to eat at all, and every mealtime Harry had to call Poppy, who came and spelled nutrient potions and other potions directly into his stomach. During the night, Severus' fever finally broke, and in the morning of the third day, he felt much better.

"Hello Harry," Severus mumbled, feeling Harry's cold hand on his forehead.

"Good morning, Daddy," Harry replied, hoping that his father was better since he didn't sound so congested and wasn't burning up any more. "How are you?"

"I feel much better, son," Severus replied. "I'm sorry that you had to take care of me all the time."

"No problem, Aunt Poppy often came to help me," Harry told his father, glad that he was better, because he had been very worried about him and had felt a bit lonely, since Severus had hardly been able to communicate with him during the last two days. Remembering Poppy's instructions, he got up and fetched the thermometer from the night table, adjusting it into his father's mouth. While they were waiting for the reading, he told Severus about the story he had been reading the day before, in which a small boy became friends with a dragon.

"38.2," he read, frowning. "I know that it's better, but you still have a fever," he said sadly.

"That's all right, Harry. I feel much better, and by tomorrow morning the fever will be gone completely," Severus told him calmingly. "Tomorrow, you will go back to school, son."

However, Harry should not go back to school so soon.

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Harry woke up when his father slightly shook his shoulder. "Harry, you have to get up. School is going to start in an hour."

He lazily opened his eyes, seeing that his father was standing next to the bed. "No Daddy, you mustn't get up yet. I have to take your temperature and see if you can get up at all," he spoke up, noticing that his throat felt slightly scratchy.

Although he felt much better, Severus couldn't muster the power to fight with his energetic six-year old son and obediently sat down next to Harry, taking the thermometer into his mouth. "37.8," Harry read. "Well, then you can get up, but Aunt Poppy said you still have to rest and cannot teach today."

"And I will teach my lessons, son," Severus replied, raising an eyebrow at Harry, who swayed a little when he got onto his feet.

"Are you all right, Harry? You don't feel sick, do you?" he asked, worriedly, and put a hand on his son's forehead, which didn't feel cool but not overly hot either.

Harry shook his head. "I'm fine, Dad." He went to the bathroom and into his own room, where Severus had already put fresh clothes for him onto his bed. Twenty minutes later, father and son were sitting in their kitchen, where the house elves had served breakfast for them. Harry suddenly felt that he wasn't hungry at all. However, he tried to eat as much as he could, and Severus was too occupied to force down his own meal in order to please his son to notice that Harry ate much less than normal.

However, when Harry stood up, he swayed again, and Severus suddenly noticed that his son was extremely pale, while his cheeks were flushed. "Harry, are you sure that you aren't ill?" he asked worriedly, and seeing that his son only shrugged instead of giving an answer, he ordered him back into his bedroom, made him sit down on the bed, and pried the thermometer into his mouth.

Harry suddenly felt his head swimming, and his throat started to get sore. Throwing his father an apologizing look, he took the thermometer out in order to lie down first. Severus just opened his mouth to scold the child, when he realized what his son was doing. He sighed and helped the child lie down, before he once more adjusted the thermometer under his tongue. "38.8, Harry, that's a fever. I'm sorry that you got my cold too, son."

"May I stay here in your bed, Daddy?" Harry mumbled, and glassy green eyes gave Severus a pleading look. "I don't feel good."

"I believe that," Severus replied and went to call Poppy in order to check on Harry and to take over his lessons again.

"I would have taken your lessons today anyway," Poppy replied sternly. "You just recovered from a really bad infection, and you're in no condition to teach yet. Moreover, you have to take care of your son during the next days. Therefore, I will teach your lessons tomorrow, too, and I hope that both of you will rest properly, so that you can attend your lessons from Monday onwards." After giving Severus instructions what potions he had to give Harry, she told him, "Severus, I don't know if you were aware of how high your fever was when you were ill, but I expect Harry's temperature to exceed forty degrees at some stage. Call me if you need help, and try to rest as much as possible. I will check on both of you again after the morning lessons."

Harry's condition worsened rapidly. At first, Severus lay down next to him, cuddling him close. However, a few hours later, Harry began to cough and sneeze all the time, feeling so congested that he could hardly breathe in a lying position. Severus busied himself tucking Harry in when he began to shiver only to retrieve the blankets from the floor when Harry kicked them away shortly later. He helped Harry blow his nose every now and then and made him take little sips of water as often as possible. When he wanted to take Harry's temperature the next time, feeling that the child was burning up, Harry sneezed and coughed so much that they had to start again three times, until finally the thermometer beeped and pink figures told Severus that Harry's fever had spiked, reaching 40.8 degrees.

Harry's fever remained dangerously high for a few days, and only at the beginning of the following week, his condition slowly began to improve. Poppy decided that Severus had to remain at home with Harry if he didn't want him to stay at the hospital wing, and Severus had grudgingly agreed that Poppy could continue teaching his lessons for another week. He sat at Harry's side all the time, bathing his hot face, helping him sit up when he had to cough, and reading stories to him whenever he felt a little better.

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When Harry began to feel better, Minerva came to see him once a day in order to visit Harry and to give Severus the opportunity to brew potions or work in his office. One day, she handed Harry a letter. "Is dat for be?" Harry asked, surprised. He couldn't remember to have received a letter ever before.

"That's for you, Harry," Minerva said gently. "You know that your teacher is a good friend of me, don't you? She gave me the letter when I met her during the weekend. It's from your class. They seem to miss you, sweetie."

Harry opened the letter and looked at it in awe. Each of his friends had written a sentence and made a small drawing for him. The letter was very funny, and Harry couldn't stop look at it happily. "Look, Aubt Biderba, everybob has writteb sobedigg for be," he told Minerva, proudly showing her the letter.

Suddenly, Harry began to cry. "Harry, what's wrong?" Minerva asked worriedly.

"I badt to see by friedds, badt to go to school," Harry sobbed.

"You want to go to school to see your friends?" Minerva repeated incredulously. "Harry, you're still ill, you can't go to school yet."

"Doe, I'b fide," Harry sobbed hoarsely. Suddenly, his sobs turned into coughs, just when Severus entered the room.

"Harry, stop crying immediately. You'll only worsen your condition," Severus admonished the child. "Now let me take your temperature to see how fine you are." He stuck the thermometer into Harry's mouth, and his sobs and coughs turned into silent moans.

While they were waiting, Minerva read to Harry from the book "Hogwarts: A History", which Harry found very interesting. "39.4," Minerva told the child. "That's still quite a fever, sweetie. It will take a few days until you'll be well enough to attend school. I'm sure you'll understand that; you're already a big boy, aren't you?"

"Yes," Harry replied hoarsely. "I'b a bery big boy, add I took good care of by Daddy, didb't I?"

"Yes, sweetie, you did that very well. And now you have to help us take good care of you, so that you can start attending school soon."

* * *

HP

_I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse my mistakes - or tell me, so that I can correct them! _

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	4. Christmas Talks

**Christmas Talks  
**

During the last four weeks, Harry had only been allowed to attend his morning classes, and his father and Madam Pomfrey had forced him to take a nap and rest in the afternoon. Now it was two days before the beginning of the Christmas holidays, and Harry was looking forward to the holidays because his father would be at home all the time and because Poppy had told him that he'd probably be allowed to attend his afternoon classes again after the holidays.

He jumped out of his bed and, seeing that his father wasn't up yet, he toddled into his bedroom, grudgingly taking the thermometer with him as he knew that he wouldn't get around without his temperature being taken. He put the annoying thing down on his father's night table and slid under the covers next to Severus, cuddling close to him.

"Good morning, Harry, how are you?" Severus asked, giving his son a kiss on the forehead.

"I'm fine, Dad; I'm looking forward to the holidays," Harry beamed.

"All right, then let's take your temperature and get up," Severus decided, sitting up. "Ah, good you brought it with you," he commended his son, sticking the thermometer into Harry's mouth.

Harry was so annoyed having to take his temperature every morning and evening on Poppy's orders that he just didn't want to lie quietly and turned from one side to the other, so that Severus had to adjust the thermometer several times. "Now Harry, stop this nonsense immediately, or you will spend the morning in the hospital wing," Severus finally threatened. "36.4, all right then," he announced a while later, and Harry jumped out of the bed, hurrying into his room to get dressed.

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At school, all the children were very excited about the upcoming holidays. From the first lesson onwards, the teacher told them about Christmas, and Harry listened intensely, enjoying himself very much. In the second class, the teacher asked them what they expected to receive from Father Christmas, and Harry suddenly felt the urge to sick up. '_What can I tell them?_' he thought, horrified. '_I can't tell them that Father Christmas won't bring me anything because I'm not a good boy, now can I?_' When the other children began to happily tell the others what they wanted for Christmas, Harry couldn't help feeling really sick. After a quickly murmured, "Excuse me," he dashed to the toilets and threw up vehemently. When he returned to his class, his knees were shaking, and his teeth were chattering.

"Harry, what's wrong?" Neville asked, seeing that Harry was shivering violently.

"I'm fine," Harry mumbled in a small voice, trying not to attract the teacher's attention.

However, the teacher was very observant and knowing about Harry's problems with his immune system, she used to keep a special eye on Harry. Suddenly, Harry felt a cold hand on his forehead. He gave the teacher a weary look, mumbling, "I'm fine, really."

"I don't think so," the teacher replied and turned to the class. "I'll be in the staff room with Harry for a few minutes. Please start drawing a picture about what Christmas is like at your home."

Harry hesitantly followed her to the staff room. '_Again!_' he thought, annoyed, and once more tried to explain, "Mrs. Baker, I really feel fine."

"Shush, shush, just lie down here and let me take your temperature, sweetie. Then we will see if we have to call your Aunt Poppy to look after you," the teacher replied, carefully sticking the thermometer under his tongue, before she went to fetch a blanket for the shivering child and softly tucked him in.

'_I'm not ill, I only felt bad after the talk about Father Christmas_,' Harry mused. '_But I can't the teacher about it, and why do I feel so bad? My head hurts so much_.'

"You have a fever," the teacher told him, softly stroking his hot cheeks.

"But I feel fine; please, may I go back to the classroom?"

"No Harry, you have 39.4 degrees of a fever, that's much too high to attend classes. I'm going to call your Aunt Poppy, and we'll ask her what's wrong."

A few minutes later, Poppy sat down on the edge of the sofa. "Hey, sweetie, what's wrong?" She softly pushed an errand strand of hair from his sweaty forehead and looked piercingly into the glassy green eyes.

"I'm fine," Harry replied. "I just felt a bit sick when we spoke about Father Christmas, but I managed to run to the toilet in time, Aunt Poppy. But now I'm good, just a bit of a fever."

"You did that very well, sweetie," Poppy commended the child, "And no, you don't have a bit of a fever, you have quite a fever, but I can't find anything wrong." She made Harry drink a fever reducing potion, watching as the child visibly relaxed. "Maybe you ate something at breakfast, which your stomach didn't like," Poppy said calmingly, waving her wand at the child once more. "You still have a bit of a fever, Harry. Do you want to return to your class, or will you come with me and stay in my office until lunch time?"

"With you," Harry replied and was about to get up when Poppy motioned him to stay put.

"Let me speak to your teacher for a minute, and then we'll leave."

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During the rest of the morning, Harry helped Poppy to care for the sick students in the hospital wing, until she made him lie down on a bed, noticing that his fever was going up again. Knowing that Severus was very busy on the last two days before the holidays, Poppy decided to keep Harry in the hospital wing, so that she was able to keep an eye on him all the time. Harry didn't mind. He knew that his father would come and spend as much time with him as he could, and he liked Aunt Poppy very much, too.

In the bed next to Harry's, Charlie Weasley, Ron's older brother, was recovering from a bad infection. In spite of the fact that Poppy had ordered absolute bed rest for him, he stood up and sat down on the edge of Harry's bed when the healer had left the wing for a few minutes.

"Hey Harry, what's wrong with you?" Charlie asked gently, his voice sounding very hoarse.

"I only have a headache and a fever," Harry replied. "And you? A cold?"

"Well, yes, a throat infection actually, but your father's potions are so good that I feel absolutely gorgeous. It's just that I still have a fever, and Pomfrey won't let me go. But I hope to be able to return home the day after tomorrow. Now tell me, how's Ron? You're in the same class, aren't you?"

"Yes, he's one of my friends. I think he's fine, at least he was in the morning," Harry replied, remembering how Ron had told his classmates that he hoped to get his own broom from Father Christmas.

"Harry, are you all right?" Charlie asked worriedly, seeing that Harry was fiercely rubbing his forehead.

"Yes, I just have a bad headache," Harry mumbled.

"Charlie Weasley! Get in your bed immediately!" they suddenly heard Poppy's stern voice.

"Don't worry, I'll come to visit you again," Charlie whispered to Harry, before he hurried back into his own bed.

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"You better take Harry with you," Poppy told Severus, when he came to visit Harry after his last afternoon class. "I'm afraid that he'll catch a cold or something from the students, who won't listen and instead of staying in bed sit down on the edge of Harry's bed to talk to him. Harry has already made at least three friends; however, each of them is here with a bad cold or even a throat infection."

"That's not good, considering Harry's weak immune system," Severus replied sternly.

"I know that, Severus. Nevertheless, I want you to bring Harry back tomorrow morning, because he needs to be monitored constantly. He cannot spend the whole day alone in his room, while you're teaching. Frankly speaking, I have the impression that something is bothering him, that he got upset about something at school that made his stomach churn so much that he had to throw up. And as long as he is still upset about the matter, his fever won't come down easily."

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On the next day, most of the students were released just in time for the evening feast in the Great Hall. When Severus and Poppy left for the Great Hall as well, only Harry and four students remained in the hospital wing. Suddenly, Charlie sat on the edge of Harry's bed. "Hey Harry, don't fall asleep yet. We're going to have our own party."

Harry watched in awe, how Charlie produced a small package that his friends had brought him in the afternoon, pointed his wand at the package and enlarged it. Inside the package, they found several kinds of delicacies and even two small bottles with Butter beer. Everyone brought their water glasses with them and sat down on a free spot on the floor together around the package. Harry didn't have much appetite, but it was so much fun to do something together with the older students that he definitely wasn't allowed to do, and he enjoyed himself immensely. However, not knowing that Butter beer was different from juice, he thirstily gulped down the liquid in his glass and felt his head swimming immediately. He tiredly leaned on to Charlie, who was sitting next to him and watched him worriedly."

"We better put you back to bed, little one," Charlie said, carefully scooped Harry up into his arms, and laid him onto his bed.

The others cleaned up the remaining of their little feast, and by the time Poppy hurriedly returned from the Great Hall, everyone was peacefully lying in his own bed.

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During the night, Harry woke up by a coughing fit. When he sat up in order to be able to breathe properly, he found that his throat was extremely sore and he could hardly swallow. He let out a few painful coughs and lay down again. However, he had problems breathing when he lay down, and when he sat up his head was swimming and he felt as if he was going to black out any minute. Suddenly, Severus was at his side, pulling him close.

"Harry, child, what's wrong?" he asked, worriedly feeling his son's forehead.

"I don't know, Dad," Harry croaked; "I don't feel good."

Severus pulled out his wand and lighting the tip, he carefully examined the child's throat and ears, before he waved his wand over the child. "You probably have a throat infection or something like that," he stated while he put back his wand. "Let me take you temperature; then we will decide if we have to wake up Aunt Poppy."

He quickly fetched a thermometer from Poppy's office, sat behind Harry, so that the child could comfortably lean on to him, and stuck the thermometer under Harry's tongue. Having the child in his arms, he noticed that the boy seemed to be very ill. "41.2," he read the result, horrified. "Wait a moment, Harry; I'm going to get Aunt Poppy."

"Bronchitis," Poppy diagnosed five minutes later. "I'm sorry, Severus. His immune system probably wasn't able to handle all the sick students here in the room." She gave Harry a few potions, watching as he slowly calmed down and went back to sleep.

During the next few days, Harry's fever remained extremely high, and he was really suffering from his illness. Since all the students had been released in the meantime, Severus had taken Harry down to his own room, where he took turns with Poppy and Minerva watching over the child day and night. After a few days, his fever broke, and on the morning of Christmas Eve, Poppy couldn't find anything wrong with him – apart from the fever he already had before he caught the bronchitis.

"You still have a fever of over 39 degrees, Harry. Are you feeling well?" Poppy asked concerned after she checked on him in the morning.

"Yes, Aunt Poppy, my throat isn't sore anymore, and I can breathe properly. I just have a headache, and I still feel hot and cold at the same time," Harry replied.

Poppy handed him a goblet, and, knowing that it was the fever reducing potion, Harry gratefully gulped down the light blue liquid, relaxing immediately. "Thanks, Aunt Poppy."

"You're welcome, sweetie," Poppy replied, trying not to let the child notice her concern.

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"Harry, would you like to join me in the Great Hall and help decorating the Christmas tree?" Minerva asked, when she came to take care of the child during the afternoon.

"Oh, may I do that?" Harry asked excitedly.

"Poppy has allowed me to take you with me. However, if you feel worse, you must tell me immediately," Minerva explained sternly.

"All right," Harry agreed and let Minerva take him through the Floo, knowing that he wasn't in a condition to walk all the way up to the Great Hall.

Minerva made him sit down on a conjured sofa in front of the huge Christmas tree and showed him how to transfigure a tissue into a bauble. Harry tried to say the incantation, using his hand instead of a wand, but it didn't work. '_Maybe I just have to wish like when I want to make me look healthy_,' he then thought and tried to transfigure the tissue with wish magic, and the tissue changed into a beautiful green bauble. Harry smiled and looked at his work intensely, so that small, twinkling stars appeared on the green ball.

"Oh, Harry, that's beautiful," Minerva commended the child, amazed at his magical power.

After a while, Professor Flitwick joined them and showed Harry how to place Charms on the Christmas tree, and Harry tried out everything that the teachers suggested. However, the more beautiful the tree became, the more wandered Harry's thoughts to Christmas day and the fact that he wouldn't receive any presents from Father Christmas. '_This year I really was a bad boy; I behaved much worse than in the years before_,' he thought sadly. '_But during the last years, I've tried so much to be a good boy, but I always failed. I'd love to come on Christmas morning and find a present under such a nice tree_,' he mused longingly.

Only when Minerva felt his forehead with her cool hands and motioned him to sit on the sofa to rest, he noticed that his headache was back full force and he felt feverish again. "Could I get a fever reducer, please?" he asked hesitantly, giving Minerva a pleading look from his glassy eyes.

"Let me just take your temperature first, sweetie," Minerva replied, giving him a worried glance, and stuck a thermometer into his mouth. While they had to wait, she conjured a cool cloth and softly bathed his hot face. "I'm sorry, Harry. That obviously was too strenuous for you," she apologized to Harry, who slightly shook his head.

"40.2," Minerva read, flabbergasted. "Harry, let me take you to Aunt Poppy, so that she can examine you and see what is wrong. Shall I make you float next to me, or do you feel well enough to walk?" she asked softly.

"Walk," Harry replied in a small voice and slowly walked at Minerva's hand to the hospital wing.

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Poppy examined the child closely. However, apart from the fever, she couldn't find anything wrong. "It's similar to the last time, when I picked him up at school last week," she told Minerva thoughtfully. "Did you talk about something that could have upset him?"

"No." Minerva shook her head. "We only spoke about the tree and Christmas, but most of the time we were busy making the decorations."

Poppy turned back to Harry. "Do you remember, what happened, when I picked you up from school last week? Did you get upset about something in class, Harry?"

Harry wearily looked around the room, and, seeing that nobody else except for Minerva was there, he hesitantly told Poppy, "The teacher wanted to know what we're going to get from Father Christmas. But I won't get anything, and I didn't want to explain that in front of everyone, and then I felt sick."

"Oh, sweetie, why do you think you won't get anything for Christmas?" Poppy asked, flabbergasted.

"Because I'm not a good boy," Harry replied in a small voice. "I've never got anything for Christmas, because Father Christmas only comes to good boys."

Poppy and Minerva threw him horrified looks. "Harry, listen to me. Did your relatives tell you that?" Poppy enquired gently.

"Ye," Harry mumbled miserably.

"All right, you already know that they were very mean and told you lies about your parents and other things, don't you?"

"Hmm," Harry made, rubbing his aching forehead, causing Poppy to pull a phial out of her robe pocket.

"Here, Harry, drink this first, and then we'll talk." When the child complied, she continued, "You're not bad at all. You're a very sweet and good boy, and I'm sure that Father Christmas is going to bring you one or even a few presents!"

"Really?" Harry asked, giving the healer a hopeful glance.

"Yes of course, Harry," Minerva agreed immediately. "I bet that you'll get more presents than Aunt Poppy," she added jokingly, making Harry chuckle a bit.

"All right, sweetie, I want you to lie down here on the bed and take a nap until dinner time in order to get your fever down," Poppy told the child in a strict voice, which told Harry that he had to obey.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

In the morning, Severus woke Harry up right in time for breakfast in the Great Hall. After the story, which Minerva and Poppy had told him in the evening, he really hoped that the child's condition would allow them to participate in the festivities. He would receive such a huge surprise when he looked at the Christmas tree.

"Happy Christmas, Harry! How do you feel, my child?"

"I feel really well today," Harry beamed, throwing his covers away.

"Slowly child, we have to make sure that you don't have a fever," Severus told him apologizing and placed the thermometer into his son's mouth, completely ignoring Harry's groan. A few minutes later, he glanced amazed at the result. Now that Poppy and Minerva had efficiently made his worries about Father Christmas and being a bad boy go away, his condition had improved, too.

"Happy Christmas to you too, Daddy," Harry shouted excitedly, while he worked hard opening a whole pile of presents.

* * *

HP

_I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse my mistakes!_

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	5. Naughty Harry

**Naughty Harry  
**

Harry was pushing his breakfast around his plate until he noticed that Minerva, who was sitting on his left side, was watching him. Then he hesitantly bit a piece off his toast, munching it very slowly. In fact, he didn't feel too well today, but since it was the last day of primary school before the Easter holidays, he just couldn't miss school today.

He felt as if his head was surrounded by a white mist and therefore didn't notice that Minerva talked over his head to his father, "Severus, do you think Harry is all right? He's not his usual cheery self this morning, and he hardly eats anything."

Harry nearly chocked when he suddenly felt Minerva's cool hand on his forehead, followed shortly later by his father's even colder hand. "Harry, are you feeling all right?" Severus enquired in concern.

"Yes Daddy, I'm fine," Harry replied as cheerfully as possible.

"You should take him back to your quarters and take his temperature before sending him to school," Minerva advised Severus, who agreed immediately.

"No, I'm fine," Harry insisted.

"We could go to Poppy; that's nearer and she can do it with magic," Severus said and motioned Harry to stand up."

"No Severus; she's at St. Mungo's; she'll only be back in about an hour," Minerva told him, only to add, "Call me if you need my help for anything."

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

Out in the entrance hall, Harry once more tried to convince his father to just let him go. However, noticing that his son's cheeks were flushed, his eyes looked glassy, and that he was slurring the words, Severus insisted on taking Harry back to his quarters to make sure that he didn't have a fever.

Back in the Snape quarters, Severus made Harry lie down on his bed while he fetched the thermometer from the bathroom. "Open up," he ordered his son shortly later.

"No Daddy," Harry replied softly. "I'm fine. Let me go to school, please!"

"Harry," Severus told his son patiently. "We are only worried about you, and you know that. Remember how often you fell ill during the last year. Open your mouth so that I can take your temperature now. Afterwards, I will take you to school immediately, provided that you don't have a fever."

"No!" Harry shouted, pressing his mouth shut.

"Open up now!" Severus hissed.

"No!" Harry's mouth narrowed to a thin line.

"Very well; there are other methods to take a person's temperature," Severus smirked, fingering at the collar of Harry's shirt.

Knowing that his father would try to stick the thermometer under his armpit, since he did that sometimes when he was asleep, Harry quickly turned away from him, so that he was facing the wall, which didn't prevent Severus from trying to pull the shirt down over his other shoulder. However, Harry pressed his arm firmly to his chest, so that it was impossible to stick something under his armpit.

"Harry, we don't have time for such nonsense!" he told the child, giving him a menacing glare.

Pushing his surprised father's hand away, Harry quickly pulled his shirt back on and turned a bit more to the wall until he was lying on his stomach, noticing the heat creep into his head as he became exhausted.

Now absolutely livid, Severus quickly spelled Harry's trousers and boxers down to his knees, revealing his son's naked bum. Before Harry could fight him or show any reaction at all, he stuck the thermometer in, telling his son, "I told you that there were other methods to take a person's temperature, more unpleasant ones."

* * *

_This is a re-post of the former one-shot. Please be so kind and review! It is so sad that all the reviews you kindly posted before will be lost!  
_

_I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse my mistakes!_

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	6. A Friend's Help

**A Friend's Help  
**

Harry was just walking back from school and had nearly passed half the way through Hogsmeade, watching the birds play along the street, when he noticed Mr. Malfoy, Draco's father, walking straight towards him. Although Harry liked his class mate Draco a lot, he was very afraid of his father. '_Dad probably doesn't like him either_,' he thought, knowing that Severus never allowed Harry to visit Draco but always insisted that Draco had to come over if they wanted to play together after school or during the holidays.

"Watch out where you walk," the man hissed, shoving him to the ground full force.

By the time Harry scrambled back to his feet, the man was already gone. Harry noticed relieved that he wasn't hurt, but his trousers held a small hole and his knee was throbbing painfully. Trying to ignore the pain, he dragged himself back to the castle, glad that his father wasn't yet back from classes, and changed into different trousers, hoping that the house elves were so kind and mended his trousers as they had already done before.

Harry intended to tell his father that his knee hurt after dinner, but in the evening Harry was allowed to accompany Severus to Minerva's birthday party, where he met Neville with his grandmother, who was a good friend of Minerva. Harry enjoyed himself so much that he forgot about the throbbing in his knee.

In the morning, he only noticed that it was much worse than on the previous day when he was on his way to school, and by the time he had dragged himself to school, he didn't feel well at all. Not only his knee hurt, but he had a headache and felt a hot and cold at the same time. Nevertheless, he tried to do his best during classes and nobody except for the teacher, who was always watching him closely, noticed that he wasn't his normal cheery self at all.

When the children headed out to the playground to play during lunch break, Draco suggested flying, and while most of the children enthusiastically ran over to the broom cupboard, Harry sat down on a bench next to Neville, who always used to watch while they were flying.

"Aren't you going to fly today, Harry?" Neville asked astonished.

"No, my knee hurts a lot," Harry replied sadly, watching how his friends took into the air. '_If it only was my knee, I'd try to fly, but I feel so dizzy all of a sudden_,' he thought, casting Neville a small smile that didn't really reach his eyes.

A few minutes later, Neville excused himself. "I have to go to the bathroom; I'll be back shortly." He went straight into the teachers' room, looking for his teacher. "Harry told me his knee hurts, and I think he behaves as if he was sick," he told the teacher.

"I already suspected that," the teacher replied and headed outside together with Neville. Harry groaned inwardly, when he saw the teacher heading straight towards him, followed by a hesitant Neville. "Neville was afraid that you were sick, Harry," the teacher said softly, while a cold hand found its way to his forehead. "I think you have a fever, Harry; are you feeling unwell?"

Feeling absolutely miserable now, Harry asked, "May I go home?"

"I'll call your father to pick you up, sweetie; you cannot go home on your own," the teacher said firmly and motioned Harry to follow her inside.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

Five minutes later, Severus stepped out of the fireplace, gave Harry a piercing look, and pulled him close to take him back home through the Floo network after thanking the teacher profoundly.

He made his son sit on a chair in his office and leaned down to him, enquiring softly, "What's wrong, son? Are you feeling unwell?"

"My knee hurts a bit, but it's not so bad," Harry replied hesitantly.

"All right then, let me have a look," Severus replied and took Harry's trousers off with a wave of his wand, before he knelt down in front of him. "How and when did you get these scratches?" he asked, horrified to see that Harry's right knee was full of small scratches that had become infected because they hadn't been treated immediately.

"It was yesterday," Harry began to explain. "I met Draco's father on the way back from school, and he pushed me to the ground. But it wasn't so bad then, and I forgot to tell you because we went to the party in the evening."

Severus tried hard to hide his murderous thoughts towards Lucius from Harry. He quickly fetched a disinfection liquid and a healing salve from his potions shelf as well as the thermometer from his private quarters, before he once more knelt down in front of his son. He stuck the thermometer under Harry's armpit, before he carefully removed a few small bits of dirt from and applied the disinfection liquid on the injured knee, causing Harry to whimper a little. Noticing his son's discomfort, Severus softly told the child, "I'm sorry, Harry; this will sting a bit, but it's necessary. It will soon be over."

After an infinite amount of time, he took back the thermometer and frowned. "You have a fever, Harry, caused by the infection. I will take you to your room, before I apply the healing salve on your knee. I'm afraid that you'll have to spend the afternoon in bed."

"All right," Harry mumbled wearily, noticing that his father gently picked him up and put him down again on his own bed.

Severus sat on the edge of Harry's bed and gently applied the healing salve on the infected scratches, noticing that their colour immediately turned from green to white, which was a good sign. He lightly wrapped the knee into white gauze, softly speaking to the child when he scrunched his face in pain. He quickly summoned a pain relieving potion and a fever reducer, which was laced with a light sleeping draught, and made Harry drink both, before he gently helped him to lie down again. "Rest until I return from my afternoon classes," he advised his son in his soft, silky voice.

"Thank you Dad," Harry mumbled tiredly, already feeling much better.

* * *

_Re-post of my original oneshot._

_I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse my mistakes!_

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	7. An Eventful School Trip

**An Eventful School Trip  
**

It was a few days before the beginning of the summer holidays and the condition of Harry's immune system hadn't improved yet, nor had Severus found a cure in the meantime. Harry often caught colds and whenever he had the slightest health problem, his immune system wasn't able to properly control his temperature, causing him to get a fever every now and then.

From the next day onwards, Harry's class was planning to go on a trip to a school holiday resort next to a lake, where the children would stay for four days and three nights. They would be able to play Quidditch and would even be instructed to swim. In Harry's class were six boys and six girls, and all the boys were going to share a dormitory. Harry was absolutely thrilled. "Oh, it will be so much fun," he told his father for the umptiest time.

In the evening, he had received many bags with sweets and useful accessories for the trip from the other teachers and had already packed his bag. "Do you think I can take Teddy?" he asked hesitantly.

"Of course, you can take Teddy with you, son. He always sleeps in your bed, doesn't he? I'm sure the other boys will have a teddy or something else to cuddle too," Severus replied softly. He smiled at his excited son. It was only eighteen months since Harry had come to live with him, but the boy never seized to surprise him. '_The only problem is his condition_,' he mused while he took Harry's temperature.

"You know, Harry, that even if you're there, you'll still have to take your temperature every morning and every night," he said softly. "I've already spoken with your teacher and told her about your problems and about Poppy's instructions, and she promised that she will look after you. I have also given her all the potions you might need during that time. And if you felt really ill, you could of course Floo home anytime."

"Go gad a do..." Harry spoke horrified around the thermometer, causing Severus to glare at him. '_We will all stay together in one dormitory, and I don't want all the others to know_,' he thought, absolutely terrified.

As soon as Severus finally took the thermometer out, Harry voiced his thoughts. "Dad please, can't we just leave it these three days? If I don't feel well, I'll tell the teacher."

Severus shook his head. "I'm sorry, but that's Poppy's explicit order; otherwise you wouldn't be allowed to leave for the trip." He gently stroked Harry's cheeks and said soothingly, "It will be all right, son. Your teacher will understand that you don't want everyone to know; on the other hand, there will only be your friends, won't there?"

"It's Neville, Draco, Blaise, Ron, and Terri, Dad, my normal classmates," Harry replied in a small voice.

"Then it's not such a problem now, is it? Your classmates already know that your condition is not the best, don't they?" Severus enquired softly but wasn't able to convince Harry.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

Severus nearly expected Harry to fall ill since he always caught something just before a big event at school. However, when he checked on his son in the morning, Harry was completely fine and couldn't wait to go to school. Since he had to carry his bag, Severus decided to accompany Harry and take the Floo back to Hogwarts. "Have fun, son, and take care of yourself," he instructed his son, before he placed a kiss on his forehead and headed inside the school to the fireplace to be back at Hogwarts in time for his first class.

When everyone was assembled in front of the school, the teacher called the Knight Bus. "To Cranberry Lake Resort please," she instructed the driver and motioned the children to the upper deck, which was empty at that time, so that they wouldn't disturb the elder people on board.

After an exciting bus ride for twenty minutes, they finally arrived at the resort. At first, the children were allowed to run around for twenty minutes exploring the grounds, before they were told to assemble in the dining hall, where the teacher introduced Mrs. Weasley, Ron's mother, who was accompanying them for the four days. A few minutes later, hot cocoa and scones appeared on the tables.

Later, the children were shown to their rooms and were told they could do what they wanted until lunchtime, when they were expected back in the dining hall. The boys held an instant pillow fight in their dormitory before they headed out to play Quidditch for a while. Since they were exactly six boys, Neville was begged to play as well, so that they could make two teams of three people each. Like at school during lunch break, Harry and Draco played Seekers, but Draco didn't have a chance against Harry, who was very adept at catching the Snitch.

As much as Harry liked Quidditch, he wasn't sad when they were called inside the house for lunch since it was extremely warm and sunny outside. In contrary to most of his friends he was glad when they were told to stay in their dormitories for an hour after lunch, until they would be called down for their first swimming lesson. He quietly lay down on his bed and began to read the book, which Minerva had given him for the trip, unobtrusively cuddling his teddy, until Draco and Blaise started another pillow fight.

Only minutes into the fight he was hit by a pillow and couldn't resist the urge to join the fight. He threw the pillow to Neville, shouting, "Hey, Neville, let's play."

"If you're sure," the other boy said hesitantly, and minutes later, all six boys were having lots of fun until finally the teacher looked into the room and told them to put on their swimming trunks and come out to the lake.

A swimming instructor came and taught them to swim for thirty minutes. They learned how to move their arms and legs, and Harry enjoyed himself immensely. When their class was over, it was the girls' turn, and the teacher and Mrs. Weasley threw drying spells on each of them, before they told them to sit in the shadow if they wanted to watch the girls.

"Can't we spend a bit more time in the lake and try to practise what we just learned?" Draco asked disappointed, and Harry nodded eagerly.

"You can do that as soon as the girls' swimming class is finished," the teacher told them. "Mrs. Weasley and I will both be here. Please come to us after you leave the water so that we can cast a drying spell on you. We don't want you to catch a cold."

Harry felt that the teacher looked at him when she warned them, but he knew that she was right, although he was well able to put a drying charm on himself as well as he could put a concealment charm up.

The children spent the whole afternoon in and around the lake and had lots of fun. After dinner, the teacher took them on a walk all around the lake, which took two hours and caused all the children to get really tired. Nevertheless, when they were sent up to their dormitories for the night, Draco asked his five friends, "What do you think, shall we go for a nightly bath in the lake later on?"

"A brilliant idea, but it must be late enough; otherwise my Mum will kill us," Ron replied eagerly.

"Well, I brought my alarm clock, so we can set it on two o'clock in the morning if you want," Draco told them.

"At two o'clock everyone will be asleep, but somehow '_midnight_' sounds more exciting; don't you think so?" Neville spoke up.

'_That'll be so much fun_,' Harry thought happily, while he changed into his pyjamas. The boys finally agreed on midnight, and Draco set his alarm clock accordingly.

When Harry and his friends returned from the bathroom, their teacher was waiting for them in the dormitory. "Do you want me to read you a story?" she asked, receiving a huge applause from everyone. "All right," she said, sitting down on the edge of Harry's bed.

The teacher had already explained to his friends about Harry's condition and that she had to check on him every evening and morning, when Harry had missed a day of classes due to a cold the week before. Knowing that all the boys in the class were good friends, she had even asked the others to help her keep an eye on Harry. Therefore, nobody was surprised when she motioned Harry to open his mouth, so that she could take his temperature.

Nevertheless, Harry felt very uncomfortable and whispered, "Is that really necessary? I'm fine."

"You know that it is Madam Pomfrey's orders, sweetie, and you have to do that at home too, don't you? We can stick it under your armpit if you feel more comfortable then."

Harry gave her a slight nod and opened his pyjama top just enough, so that she could stick the thing under his armpit, and lay back, cuddling his teddy in his other arm. "Try to relax, sweetie," the teacher told him and began to read a short story to the children, which was very funny. When she finished reading, most of the children were so tired from the long walk that they went to sleep on the spot. The teacher picked up the thermometer from the night table, where Harry had put it when it beeped, and whispered, "37.2, that's a slight temperature, Harry. Are you feeling fine?"

"Yes, I'm fine, I'm only a bit tired," Harry mumbled back, already closing his eyes.

"Well, if you have problems during the night, come or send someone to call me. I have the room just opposite your door," the teacher told him, receiving a small smile from the child, before he drifted off to sleep.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

When Draco's alarm clock rang, everyone was very sleepy, and it took several minutes until the six boys were up and dressed in their swimming trunks. They quietly headed outside and played in the soft water, careful not to laugh too loud, seeing that the windows of most rooms were open. It was much fun, but after a while Harry noticed that he was getting cold and told the others, "I'm sorry, but if I don't want to catch a cold, I have to go back inside."

"It's all right, Harry. We will all go back together," Blaise replied and ushered the others out of the water.

"We'll have our swimming class in the morning anyway," Ron agreed and the children hurried back into their dormitory to dry up and go back to bed, glad that nobody had noticed that they were gone for an hour.

"That was much fun. Can we do it again tomorrow?" Neville yawned.

"I'd like that," Harry replied sleepily.

In the morning, the teacher kept Harry back, when she sent the others down for breakfast. She took his temperature, fretting a little about the fact that he was still having a slight temperature, but Harry managed to convince her that he felt fine, which he really did, and was finally allowed to join his classmates.

"Is everything all right, Harry?" Neville asked softly, when Harry took the empty seat next to him, and Harry gave him a happy look.

During the hour, which they had to wait for their swimming class to start, the whole class played hide and seek on the grounds, which was a lot of fun. Harry enjoyed himself immensely during the day, and after the second swimming class in the afternoon he could even swim two or three strokes. '_We still have two days, and after that I will probably be able to swim_,' Harry thought happily. '_I must ask Daddy if I may swim in the lake at Hogwarts_.'

After dinner, the teacher allowed them to play outside for another hour and motioned Harry to accompany her to her room for a moment. "Harry, I'd like to check on you now, because we will have a party tonight with all the other classes that are here at the moment, and everyone will go to bed when he or she is tired."

"A party?" Harry replied happily and opened his mouth to let the teacher take his temperature.

While they were waiting, the teacher spoke to him in a soft voice, telling him several things about the house where they were at the moment. Although Harry really liked the teacher and found everything interesting, which she told him, he couldn't wait to get out to his friends and sighed in relief when the thermometer finally beeped. However, the teacher threw him a worried glance, reading from the display that he had a temperature of 37.5. "Harry, are you feeling all right?" she asked softly.

"Yes, I'm fine, I'm only tired," Harry replied honestly.

"Is that the normal temperature you have in the evening?" the teacher asked uncertainly.

"No, normally it's under 37 degrees, but it sometimes happens, before I get sick or so," Harry admitted in a small voice. "But I'm really fine. May I go, please?"

"If it happens at home, does your Daddy give you a potion?"

Harry shook his head. "No, only if it's over 38 degrees."

"All right, then you may go, but if you don't feel well anymore, please come to me immediately."

Harry quickly joined his friends, whom he found near the lake throwing stones into the lake.

"Is everything all right, Harry?" Neville asked worriedly. "That took you quite a time."

"Ah, it's all right. She was fretting over me, because I have a slight temperature, although I'm fine," Harry whispered back, not noticing that Mrs. Weasley was standing right behind him, giving him a piercing look.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

The party was a lot of fun. They played many games, and the older school children, who were there, showed them how to dance to the music that came from a Muggle device in the corner. A short while into the party however, Harry noticed that he suddenly felt extremely unwell. His stomach churned and he felt very dizzy. His vision became strange too, and everything seemed to be behind a white cloud. After emptying his stomach in the toilet a few times, he decided to go to bed, hoping that he'd feel better when he lay down. However, it didn't get better and he had to run to the toilet several times during the night.

When the others got up at midnight for their swim, Harry remained in bed, telling them that he didn't feel well. "Shall I call someone?" Neville asked in concern. "Your face is completely white, Harry."

"No, it's all right; maybe it'll be better in the morning," Harry replied miserably. '_I don't want the teacher to know that they're all up at that time of the night_.'

In the morning, Harry was still feeling absolutely horrible. Nevertheless, he got up and dressed, until his concerned classmates sent him back to bed and fetched the teacher. "What's wrong, sweetie?" she asked softly, sticking the thermometer under his armpit.

"I don't know. I had to throw up a few times during the night, and I feel dizzy; everything is so blurry," he told the teacher.

"That sounds like sunstroke, but I'm not sure. Moreover, you have a high fever, Harry. 39.8 degrees. I have to call a healer to check on you. Shall I call the healer that always watches this house, or do you want me to call Madam Pomfrey?" she asked softly.

"Aunt Poppy, please," Harry answered miserably.

"All right, sweetie." The teacher stood up and instructed Neville to stay with Harry, before she told the others to go down to the dining hall. Then she left the room only to return with Poppy a few minutes later.

Harry sighed in relief when he spotted Poppy, knowing that she would make him feel better quickly. She waved her wand over him a few times and sat down on the edge of his bed. "Harry, you have sunstroke, which means that you spent too much time in the sun. I know that sunstroke is extremely uncomfortable and that you must feel horrible. I'm going to give you a potion against the illness and another one for the fever, and I'm afraid that you will have to spend a few hours in bed." She pulled two phials out of her bag and spelled the content straight into Harry's stomach.

"That's much better," Harry sighed, feeling the effect of the potions immediately.

"Do you want to remain here, or shall I take you home with me?" Poppy asked, softly bathing his hot cheeks with a cool cloth.

Harry glanced at Neville and his teacher and replied, "I'd like to stay here. We're having so much fun here."

"All right then; I will give your teacher another potion for you, and she can check on you again later. If you need me to come, just ask her to call me. And you must stay in bed at least until lunchtime. Only if your fever is gone by then and you feel much better, you may try to get up for the afternoon. Stay out of the sun and no swimming today, please."

"Thanks Aunt Poppy," Harry replied, still feeling miserable.

"You're welcome, my dear," Poppy replied and gave him a kiss on the forehead, before she spoke to the teacher for a while, unobtrusively casting a silencing spell around them.

Neville sat down on the edge of Harry's bed until the teacher came and told him to go and eat breakfast. "Maybe Harry will be able to sleep for a while, if we let him in peace," she said gently, noticing that Harry was feeling too unwell to have company anyway.

Harry remained in a half awake condition, still feeling absolutely horrible, although he didn't feel the urge to throw up anymore. Suddenly, he noticed that someone sat down on the edge of his bed and carefully felt his forehead. He lazily opened his eyes and saw Mrs. Weasley.

"Hello sweetie, are you feeling a bit better?" she asked softly.

"A bit," Harry replied, sounding not very convincing.

"I don't know if you know my son Charlie, Ron's older brother, Harry. He once caught sunstroke and told me that it feels worse than any other illness he ever caught. Since he has six siblings, he caught several illnesses when he was smaller but he still said so. Therefore, I can well imagine how horrible you must feel."

"I know Charlie, and I like him a lot. He's very nice and funny," Harry told the kind lady in a small voice, absentmindedly cuddling his teddy.

Unfortunately, Harry didn't feel much better at lunchtime, and since he still had a fever, his teacher and Mrs. Weasley, who both came to check on him this time, made him stay in bed for the rest of the day. His friends and the two adults took turns to sit with him during the afternoon, and at dinnertime Harry was finally allowed to get up and eat dinner, although he had absolutely no appetite yet.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

When the children went to bed in the evening, Blaise said thoughtfully, "Since Harry isn't allowed to swim today, I think we should skip the midnight bath and instead hold a midnight party. What do you think?"

"I think that's a good idea," Neville agreed immediately. "It was bad enough for Harry to stay in bed the whole day."

"It's all right; I don't mind if you go swimming," Harry spoke up in a small voice.

"No mate, we'll stay with you and have some fun here tonight," Ron told him firmly.

Fun they had! When Draco's alarm went off at midnight, Ron and Terri hurried into the girls' bedroom and woke up their classmates, who sleepily followed them into the boys' bedroom for their party. For about two hours, the children filled their bellies with all the sweets they had brought with them, except for Harry, who still didn't feel well enough to eat anything. They occupied themselves playing Exploding Snap, doing pillow fights and telling each other jokes, until suddenly the teacher entered the room around two o'clock in the morning.

She quickly sent the girls back to their dormitory and looked around angrily. Noticing the bags of sweets and empty packages on the table, she refrained from scolding the boys but returned to her own room, apparently knowing that the children would regret their nightly activity in the morning.

Like the teacher had foreseen, in the morning, everyone except for Harry complained about a stomach age, and a few of the children even had a slight temperature. The teacher and Mrs. Weasley told the whole class to stay in bed until lunchtime. "Harry, you may get up if you feel well enough," the teacher said after checking his temperature. "You are still running a temperature though, and I want you to rest," she told him strictly.

"May I please attend the swimming class?" Harry begged. "I already missed the lessons yesterday, and I want to learn to swim so badly."

The teacher finally agreed but insisted on making him drink a fever reducer and taking his temperature once more before the swimming class. Harry spent the whole morning sitting in the shadow beside the lake, accompanied by Mrs. Weasley, who entertained him with funny stories about her children. '_I really like Ron's mum, but she definitely talks too much_,' Harry thought, glad when his teacher called him inside to check on him and to make him change into his swimming trunks.

After thirty minutes of swimming class just for himself, Harry was well able to swim a few strokes, and in the afternoon's swimming class, he managed to receive his seahorse swimming badge together with Draco and Ron.

After dinner, the children had to board the Knight Bus again to return home. Everyone was very disappointed that their journey was already over, and the children begged their teacher, "Can we come again next year, please?"

The teacher laughed. "I suppose we'll be able to come again next year."

After having a lot of fun in the Knight Bus for nearly an hour, they finally arrived in front of the primary school, where all the parents were already waiting for their children. Harry jumped out of the bus, ran over to his father, and let himself being pulled up on his father's arm.

"How are you, son, and how was it?" Severus asked in concern.

"I'm fine, Dad, and it was absolutely brilliant!" Harry shouted in total delight. "We will go again next year!"

**THE END**

* * *

_This is a re-post of the former one-shot, and due to the lack of reviews for my re-posted chapters, this will be the last. _

_I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse my mistakes!_

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


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